How to view printers connected to my computer
Several printing options are available to a computer. For example, there are physical printers that connect wirelessly or by Ethernet cable and PDF (Portable Document Format) options that create a soft copy of a document.
Periodically, you may need to view the printers connected to your computer to disconnect or delete any that are no longer used. For instance, if you purchase a new one, it might make sense to remove the old printer from your computer. While it doesn't hurt to leave the old printer software installed on your computer, it takes up space on the hard drive and can clutter the list of available printers.
To view the printers currently installed on your computer, select your operating system below and follow the instructions.
View connected printers on a Windows computer
- Press the Windows key, type "Printers & scanners" and then press Enter.
- The Printers & scanners section lists all printers and printing options installed on your computer. The main printer your computer is connected to and any PDF options, such as Adobe PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF, are displayed.
PDF options allow you to save your document as a PDF. When you click "print," it saves the document as a PDF on your computer rather than creating a hard copy.
The default print option is marked with "Default" next to it, as highlighted with yellow in the picture above.
Viewing connected printers on a macOS computer
How you view connected printers in macOS depends on which version you're running. To proceed, select the appropriate entry from the list below and follow the steps. If you're unsure which version is on your device, see our page: How to determine the version of macOS on a computer.
macOS Ventura and Sonoma
Here is how to view connected printers in macOS versions 13 and 14.
- At the top-left corner of the desktop screen, click the Apple icon.
- Select System Settings from the Apple menu.
- In the sidebar, scroll to the bottom and click the Printers & Scanners selector. In the section to the right, any connected printer is listed under the Printers section.
PDF options allow you to save your document as a PDF. When you click "print," it saves the document as a PDF on your computer rather than creating a hard copy.
macOS High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, and Monterey
Here is how to view connected printers in macOS versions 10 through 12.
- Open Settings.
- Under System Preferences, click Printers & Scanners.
- In the Printers section, you see the printing options available on your computer. The main printer your computer is connected to, wirelessly or by Ethernet cable, and any PDF options like Adobe are shown. (There are no PDF options installed in the example below.)
PDF options allow you to save your document as a PDF. When you click "print," it saves the document as a PDF on your computer, rather than creating a hard copy.